History: TSTC Harlingen dates back to 1967 with the expansion
of the new James Connally Technical Institute (JCTI) of Texas A&M University
to include a South Texas campus in Harlingen. The JCTI had been established
by the Texas Legislature in 1965 to meet the state’s evolving workforce
needs. In 1969, JCTI separated from Texas A&M University and became an
independent state system, with the name Texas State Technical Institute (TSTI)
and through gubenatorial appointment, established its own Board of Regents.
The TSTI system grew to four separate and independent colleges all established
on former Air Force Bases that had been vacated by the military. In 1991,
the Texas Legislature officially changed the name of the institution from
TSTI to Texas State Technical College (TSTC). TSTC Harlingen has grown from
two technical programs and forty students in 1967, to thirty-three technical
program offerings and more than 4,200 students in Fall 2003. A complete history
may be found on page 8 of the TSTC
Harlingen Catalog 2002-2004.
Mission: The institution’s mission, briefly
stated, is fundamentally that "TSTC Harlingen is a two-year institution
emphasizing courses of study in technical education for which there is a demand
within the state of Texas." TSTC is guided by two Statements of Purpose:
1) the college’s legislated purpose which serves the entire
TSTC System, and 2) TSTC Harlingen’s Expanded Statement of Purpose
specific to the Harlingen campus. TSTC is the only state-supported technical
college system in Texas, helping the state meet the high-tech challenges of
today’s global economy in partnership with business and industry, government
agencies, and other educational institutions.
Geographic Service Area: As part of the TSTC System of higher
education which has a state-wide mission (purpose), TSTC Harlingen serves
the southern region of Texas. Geographically, TSTC Harlingen recruits from
just south of the city of San Antonio to the border with Mexico. TSTC Harlingen
is located in Cameron County within the region known as the Rio Grande Valley,
which is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico to the east, Mexico to the south,
and sparsely populated ranchlands for hundreds of miles to the north and west.
The primary service area for TSTC Harlingen is the four Rio Grande Valley
counties at the tip of Texas, from which the college draws 96% of its enrollment.
Demographically, the population is primarily Hispanic (85%), poor, uneducated
or undereducated, and often speaks Spanish as its primary language. Traditionally
an agricultural economy, the region had been also home to many textile factories.
However, rapid growth (second fastest growing region in U.S. after Las Vegas)
a decline in the agriculture industry, and the closing of textile plants moving
south, is resulting in new industry for the region (cargo transportation,
increasing medical and other service industries) and changes in the local
and state economies.
Composition of Student Population: TSTC Harlingen is a coeducational,
two-year institution of higher education offering courses of study in vocational
and technical areas. The student body consists of approximately 4,200 undergraduates,
most of whom commute to campus, and 10,347 non-credit students who participate
in a variety of educational and training programs (continuing education, apprenticeship
training, and industry contract training) not leading to a formal Associate
of Applied Science (AAS) award. The student population mirrors the demographics
of the region, with 84.4% Hispanic students, half female; approximately 83%
of students are first-generation college students, and 78% of the annual enrollment
(3,288 students in Fall 2003) receiving a federal pell grant. Approximately
45% of students fall into the 18 to 21 year old age group, with 30.4% of additional
students falling into the 22 to 30 year old age group. College housing, which
has the capacity to house 399 students, averages a 77% occupancy rate. Approximately
45% of students work either full-time or part-time and 42% indicate that they
speak Spanish as their primary language.
Admissions Policies: TSTC Harlingen is an open admissions college.
For more information about the college’s admissions policies, see page
15 of the TSTC
Harlingen Catalog 2002-2004.
Peer Institutions: TSTC Harlingen’s only peer institutions
within the State of Texas are the three other TSTC System colleges located
in Waco, West Texas, and Marshall. We are peers because of our unique mission
and because we operate under the same Board of Regents. All TSTC system colleges
are fully supported by the state and have no tax base from which to draw revenue.
However, because of the varied demographics of each college’s student
population, as well as the size differences of the four locations in terms
of enrollment, no other state institution can be easily compared to TSTC Harlingen.
The only off campus location where TSTC Harlingen offers a degree is in Laredo,
Texas, as a special partnership with Laredo Community College. This degree
in Computer Drafting and Design is part of the special Laredo Partnership
Initiative originally funded by the Texas Legislature in FY 1999. By this
consortium agreement, Laredo Community College instructs 21 SCH of the program’s
required academic and technical courses, and TSTC Harlingen instructs the
remaining 51 SCH (71%) in traditional classroom and laboratory settings, and
awards an Associate of Applied Science degree to successful completers. A
Financial Aid Consortial Agreement is on file with the Department of Education,
and notification of substantive change is recorded with SACS for this off-site
program.
TSTC Harlingen offers interactive videoconferencing courses to five local
area high schools in English Composition, Art History, Government, and Economics.
These courses are offered as "dual enrollment" courses with the high schools,
and constitute no more than 25% of any AAS degree plan that the students would
complete at TSTC Harlingen. TSTC Harlingen also participates in the Virtual
College of Texas Consortium as a host institution.
